CARe scientist Johan Bengtsson-Palme who defended his thesis earlier this year will engage in a project called InSiDER - Invasion Success Determinants in bacteria and the Environmental Resistome. The first 1-2 years Johan will be stationed at Yale University in Jo Handelsman’s lab after which he will return back to University of Gothenburg.
We all say congratulations!
Johan explains the project as:
This project will test the hypothesis that genes influencing colonization, invasion and community resistance to invasion under antibiotic selection are involved in antibiotic resistance and could become future resistance factors in pathogens. To achieve this we will:
• Determine which genes that influence colonization and invasion success, as well as community resistance to invasion
• Identify genes that improve or impair colonization, invasion and community resistance under antibiotic exposure
• Characterize these genes for their potential to confer resistance to antibiotics
The project will contribute important knowledge towards the understanding of microbial invasion processes and highlight disturbances to the interactions in microbial communities caused by anthropogenic antibiotic exposure. This provides insights into how antibiotics modulate invasion and pathogenesis in microbial communities, and the genetic mechanisms behind community responses to antibiotics. The genes identified in this project are candidates to be mobilized and spread in bacterial populations, allowing to predict the secondary effects of antibiotic exposure in the environment. The identified genes may be tied to known and novel resistance factors identified and thereby better prepare us for future challenges in pathogenic bacteria.